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How sensitive are carbon monoxide alarms?
whitestu - 8/2/15 at 07:21 PM

This evening our carbon monoxide alarm went off in the downstairs loo where the boiler is. After we had switched it off and got over that we were all going to die, I realised that the smell in the loo was a bit car exhausty and that I had parked the Indy in the car port half an hour earlier.

The car port is open to the elements at one end, but the loo window opens on to the carport. Could carbon monoxide seep in through the trickle vent to the extent that it would set the alarm off?

The boiler is only 2 years old and was serviced a few months ago so unlikely to be the culprit.

I've since opened the door at the other end of the carport to let the air blow through and have put the boiler back on and so far the alarm has been fine.

What do you think?

Stu

joneh - 8/2/15 at 08:03 PM

Mine has a digital display showing ppm and no matter how hard I fart on it, it doesn't show.

snapper - 8/2/15 at 08:21 PM

Keep the window closed, if the monitor goes off its the boiler, if not open the window and run the car, if the monitor goes off gues what
I would as a matter of course either keep the window closed and/or put another monitor someware else in the house not affected by the carport

whitestu - 8/2/15 at 08:39 PM

Thanks.

That's the thing, the window was never open. The only obvious way anything could have got in was through the trickle vent.

I've had the boiler on since (with the window closed) and the alarm has stayed quiet.

We have another alarm in the lounge and that has not gone off.

gremlin1234 - 8/2/15 at 09:33 PM

does the car have a cat?
without can easily be 7000ppm, with virtually nill

whitestu - 8/2/15 at 09:42 PM

quote:

does the car have a cat?
without can easily be 7000ppm, with virtually nill


No, it's not even efi, and was on the choke as I haven't started it for a couple of months!

Irony - 8/2/15 at 10:32 PM

Surely this is a fault finding process. Stick the sensor next to the exhaust and see if it sets it off. Then you know its working. Then try and recreate the fault.

Mr Whippy - 9/2/15 at 12:54 PM

Without a ppm counter you don't know what level triggered it, I have one in the caravan and it's super sensitive count wise but never had the alarm go off

Angel Acevedo - 9/2/15 at 10:57 PM

Choke on dumps A LOT of fuel which may lead to high CO Levels, in US OSHA stablishes a limit of 50 ppm on an enclosed space so I would think the alarm went off at some point around that.
As thereīs no way to determine concentration on a room based on only one detector, safest action is to vent upon an alarm.
A never exceed limit is 100 PPM and if you reach that you must evacuate the area, I donīt think sensors have a separate alarm tone for this level as you would take corrective action upon the first indication of high CO levels.
HTH